Engine-governor



N. M. LOWER.

ENGINE GOVERNOR.

APPLICAHON FILED ms. 6. 1914.

1,305,387. Patented June 3,1919.

4SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NQM. LOWER. ENGINE GOVERNOR.

APPLICATION FIILED FEB. s. 1914. 1,305,387 Patented June a, 1919;-

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" Mon/e7 via N. M. LOWER.

ENGINE GOVERNOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5,1914.

1,305,387. I Patented Junds, 1919" 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- N. M. LOWER. ENGINE eovemuoa.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6.1914.

1 ,305, 387 Patented June 3, 1919:

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' which the governor will act, the augmenta- IINITED STATES PATENT onnion.

NATHAN M. LOWER, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO LOCOMOTIVE STOKER COMPANY, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORKyA CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

ENGINE-GOVERNOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 6, 1914. Serial No. 816,925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN M. LOWER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Schenectady, county of Schenectady, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine- Governors, of which the following is a specification, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The invention relates to governors adapted to vary the travel of the engine valve due to the centrifugal action of one or more weights mountedupon the crank shaft, and controlling a shiftable eccentric, to the strap of which the valve stem is attached.

The object of the invention is to provide means for increasing the efficiency of such devices, and for changing the action of the governing weight or weights upon the eccentric to effect the governing action at varying speeds.

In governors of this type it has been the practice to employ springs of suitable ten sion to counteract the centrifugal action, according to the speed desired. In order to provide for a change of speed it has been necessary to substitute springs of different tension; the governor, when in service, being adapted only to insurea single or uniform engine speed. The present invention provides means for augmenting the increase of the spring tension at different speeds at the same ratio as the effective centrifugal force upon the weights increases as they move out-' ward; and it also provides means for varying the spring tension to vary the speed at tion of the spring tension as the weights move out being correspondingly varied. It further provides means for effecting this variation in spring tensionand action while the engine is running.

The accompanying drawings represent one embodiment of the invention, though its scope is suflicient to include any means for effecting the result as stated. In the drawin igure 1 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of a governor on the line of the engine; crankshaft, some parts being shown in olevation Fig; 2

is a detail sectional view onth line 22 of Fig. 1, and showing some parts of the device in elevation; I

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on'the line 33 of Fig. 1, some of the parts being repre- Patented June 3, 1919.

sented in elevation, the governor weights be- 7 ing in retracted position;

Flg. 4 is a detail sectional view on the line 44.- of Fig. 1, the governor weights being in their outer position;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, the weights being shown in their outer position;

Fig. 6 is a detail of the lever for varying the spring tension Fig. 7 is a sectional detail on the line 77 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 8 andv 9 are diagrammatic views Q showing-the eccentric, and parts associated therewith, in different positions.

The crank shaft of the engine in connection with which the governor is used is represented at 10, the wrist-pin of the crank being shown at 11. This crank and the governor mechanism are inclosed within a cas- The usual governing weights, shown as two in number, are employed and are designated 19, 20, being pivoted, respectively, upon the posts 21, 22, set in the disk 18, and are connected together by means of a link 23 As shown, the usual retracting springs 24,

2 ,'are associated with the weights 19, 20,

being anchored to the disk 18, respectively,

at 26, 27. The governing weights are connected to the eccentric 16 by means of a link 28 attached to one of them, as 19, at the point 29.

As thus far described the governor is without novelfeatures. In the absence of other elements the outward movement of the governing weights, due to centrifugal force in excess of the tension of the springs 24, 25, swings the eccentric 16 about its pivot 17 so as to cause its center to approach the center of the shaft 10, therebydecreasing the throw of the valveand reducing the supply of steam to the engine in the usual mannerv -tending-to mamtain a uniform speed. In

order to augment the spring tension to correspond at diflerent speeds with the augmentation of the effective centrifugal force as the weights move out and thereby prevent the action known as pounding, and to vary the speed at which the governor will act without changing the springs and without stopping the engine, additional mechanism is provided.

This is accon'iplished, in the construction illustrated, by introducing an additional spring attached at one end to the eccentric and at the other to the free end of a lever which is swung backward by' the shifting of the eccentric responsive to the outward movement of the weights; and there is also provided a manually shiftable fulcrum for the lever, whereby not only the tension of the supplemental spring may be varied but its elongation, due to the movement of the weights, may be varied to correspond'with the centrifugal force of the Weights.

Such lever 30 is pivotally attached at one end, 31, to the eccentric 16, and at the other end to the supplemental spring 32, anchored at 33 at the farther side of the eccentric, although not necessarily diametrically opposite the point 31, it being important only that the points of attachment of the lever and of the spring to the eccentric be upon opposite sides of the radius upon which the eccentric is pivoted. The fulcrum for the lever preferably takes the form of an antifriction roller 34, carried by a' sleeve 35 rotatably and. slidably mounted 'upon the shaft 10. Movement of the eccentric from the position of Fig. 2, the weights being retracted, toward the position, assumed as shown in Fig. 4 when the weights-are at their outer position, stretches the spring 32 by moving apart the points of attachment of its ends, the eccentric being carried to the right and the free end of the lever to the left. The spring 32, therefore,

not only supplements the springs 24, 25,

but the increase of its pull is rapidly augmented by the lever action, the spring being stretched from both ends.

The lever 30 is provided with an oblique channel 36 across its inner face for engagement by the roller 34, which is so'positioned that its axis is oblique to the engine shaft. The shifting of the fulcrum along the channel has the effect of swinging the lever on its pivot, thereby changing the tension of the spring 32; and this action is augmented by varying the depth of the channel from end to end, its greatest depth being at the .end most remote from the pivot 31. The sleeve 35 is shiftable longitudinally by means of a hand lever 37, mounted upon a shaft 38 extending through the casing 12,

- and carrying a yoke 39,a pair of links 40 connecting the yoke arms with studs 41 formed upon a shifting annulus 42 associated with the sleeve.

the annulus.

The details of the-slid g sleeve construction, as shown, are as follows :The sleeve 35 bears directly upon the shaft 10 at its forward end, as shown at 43. At its rearward end it is counterbored t0 loosely receive a sleeve 44 which fits upon the shaft, the extreme end of the sleeve 35 being enla'rged to form hub 45, within which is fitted a ball bearing casing 46, the inner member of which is mounted upon the sleeve 44 and abuts against a stop flange thereon. The shiftingannulus 42 is held between an annulus 47 secured to the hub 45, as by means of a lateral threaded flange 48, and an annulus 49 secured to the sleeve 44, as by means of a lateral threaded flange 50a wear plate 51, in annular form, preflus 47 and the annulus 42..

An annular wear plate 52 is fixed upon the shaft 10 back of-the annulus 49, and bears against the inner end of a'box 53 within which the shaft 10 is journaled. As a means for locking the annulus 52 to the shaft, there is shown a pair of semi-circular plates 54, 55, which fit within a recess in its inner face, and are secured {thereto against angular movement by means of studs or dowel pins 56, 57 entering complementary recesses in The plates 54, 55, are seated in a circumferentialchannel in the shaft 10, which channel is interrupted by stop shoulders 58, 59, entering complementary recesses in the plates, and are held against radial displacement by the outer walls of the recess in the plate 52 within which they are seated.

The annulus 42 is provided with a lug 60, fitting loosely within a recess in the arch of the yoke 39, thereby positively holding the annulus against turning movement. A toothed quadrant 61.is secured to the exterior of the casing 12, and cooperates with a spring latch 62 mounted on the hand lever 37 for holding this lever and the parts controlled therebylin adjusted positions.

-When the lever 37 is in the position shown in Fig. 1, thg fulcrum roller 34 occupies the outer end and deepest portion o-fxthe oblique channel in the lever 30; that is to say, it is located at the maximum distance from the pin 31 attaching the lever to the eccentric which it is adapted to attain. The spring 32 is then under a minimum tension, and the governor acts at the lowest speedflesired. The shifting of the hand lever 37 to the right from the position shown in Fig. 1 advances the fulcrum roller 34 along the inclined channel in the lever 30 causing it to approach the pivot point 31, thereby lli'l-' The advance of the fulcrum oint alon erably being interposed between the annuof the spring lever 30, so that the movement of the weights outward at the higher speeds gives an increased spring elongation corresponding with the augmented increase of centrifugal force of the weights from in to out position, at the higher speeds; hence the engine speeds are controlled by movement of the hand lever 37.

The sleeve 35 is rotatably mounted upon the shaft not only in order that the fulcrum' roller may move along the oblique channel in the lever 30, but also to provide for its movement relatively to the shaft incident to the change of position of the eccentric as the governor acts. The pressure exerted by the 'lever 30 upon the sleeve 35, urging it toward the shaft, is mainly supported by the ball bearing 46, thereby reducing the friction and permitting free angular movement of the sleeve incident to the action of the governor. Ball bearings are not located at the forward end of the sleeve 35, merely because of mechanical difliculties incident to their introduction.

The action produced by the supplemental spring, lever and shiftable fulcrum is illustrated in the diagrammatic Figs. Nos. 8.. and 9. -.In Fig. 8 theposition of the eccentric 16, supplementalspring32, lever 30 and fulcrum 34, when the engine is at rest and the adjustment is for low speed, are indicated in solid lines. The positions of these parts when the weights have moved out are indicated in dotted lines. It will be seen that the shifting of the eccentric to the right carries with it the pivot 31 and the end 33 of the spring 32, while the free end of the lever 30 is moved to the left, carrying with it the opposite end of the spring. Thus the spring is stretched from both ends.

In Fig. 9 the positions of these several parts while the engine is at rest, but with the fulcrum 34 shifted to provide for a higher engine speed, are indicated by solid lines; and their positions when the weights are moved out are indicated in dotted lines. It will be seen that as the fulcrum has been moved nearer'to the pivot 31 than in Fig. 8, the movement of the free end of the lever to the left, due to the movement of the eccentric, is increased, thereby securing a greater augmentation of spring resistance than when the fulcrum is in the position of Fig. 8, to correspond with the greater augmentation of centrifugal force as the weights move out at the higher speeds than results from their outward movement at lower speeds.

All of the springs 24, 25 and 32 have a retracting action upon the weights 19, 2Q. While three springs are preferably used, situationsmay arise in which the spring 32 will be suflicient to retract the weights, in

which case the springs 24,25, maybe dispensed with. Furthermore, the weights may I be of any desired number.

Various changes in details of construction may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and do not,- there fore, limit myself to the specific form in which the invention is illustrated and described.

I claim as my invention 1. In a device of the character described, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, a weight pivotally carried by the shaft and movable by centrifugal force, operative connection between the eccentric and Weight, means :-for opposing the centrifugal action of the weight, and means manually operable while the shaft is rotating for varying the action of the opposing means to cause the aug-' mentation thereof as the weights move outward at the same rate as the centrifugal force of the w'eights7is augmented by such outward movement at different enginespeeds.

2. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, a pair of weights responsive to centrifugal force for shifting the eccentric bytheir movement, a spring opposing the centrifugalv action of the weights, a lever independent of the weights acting on the spring and arranged to be oscillated by the shifting movement of the eccentric.

3. In an engine overnor, in combination, a rotatable sha t, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, a pair of weights responsive to centrifugal force for shifting the eccentric by their movement, a spring opposing the centrifugal action of the weights, and means independent .of the weights for augmenting the spring tension induced by the outward movement of the weights.

4. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft a pair of weights pivotally carried by the shaft and movable radially with reference thereto means for opposing the centrifugal actlon of the weights, and supplemental means connected to a moving part of the governing mechanism other than the weights for'augmenting the opposing means as the weights move outward.

5. In n engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a pair of Weights pivotally carried by the shaft and movable radially with reference thereto, means for opposing the centrifugal \action of the weights, and supplemental means connected with a moving part of the govermng mechanism other thancthe weights for augmenting the gnormal action of the opposing means asthe weights move outward.

-6. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a pair of weights pivotally carried by the shaft and movable radially with reference thereto, means for opposing the centrifugal action of the Weights, supplemental automatic means independent of the weights for augmenting the opposing means as the weights move outward, and manually controlled means for varying the action of the supplemental augmenting means.

7. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a pair of Weights pivotally carried by the shaft and movable radially with reference thereto, means 'for ,opposing the centrifugal action of the weights, supplemental means independent of the weights for augmenting the opposing means as the weights move outward, and manually controlled means for varying the action of the augmenting means.

8. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a pair of radially movable weights pivotally carried by the shaft, means for opposing the outward movement of the weights, supplemental means independent of the weights for augmenting the opposing means as the weights move outward, and manually controlled means for changing the action of the supplemental means.

9. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a radially movable weight carried by the shaft, a shiftable eccentric mounted directly upon the shaft, connection between the weight and the eccentric, a spring acting on the eccentric in opposition to the outward movement of the weight, a lever pivoted to the eccentric and connected to the spring, and a fulcrum ,for the lever carried by the shaft.

10. In an engine overnor, in combination, a rotatable sha a radially movable weight carried by the shaft, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, connection between the weight and the eccentric, a spring acting on the eccentric in opposition to the outward movement of the weight, a lever pivoted to the eccentric and connected to the spring, a fulcrum for the lever carried by the shaft and angularly movable thereon. a I

11. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a radially movable weight carried by the shaft, a shiftable ec; centric carried by the shaft, connection be tween the weight and the eccentric, a lever pivotally attached at one end to the eccentric, a fulcrum mounted on the shaft and engaging the lever intermediate of its ends, and a spring reacting between the movable end. of the lever and the eccentric.

12. In an engine overnor, in combination, a rotatable-sha a radially movable weight carried by the shaft, a shiftable ecnecessacentric carried by the shaft, connection between the weight and the eccentric, a lever pivotally attached at' one end to the eccentric, a fulcrum oscillatably carried by the shaft and engaging the lever intermediate of its ends, and a spring reacting be tween the movable end of the lever and the 'eccentrlc.

13. In an engine governor, in combination,

a rotatable shaft, a radially movable weight 0 carried by the shaft, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, connection between the weight and the ecc entric,-'a lever pivotally" attached at one end to the eccentric, a fulcrum oscillatably carried by the shaft and Q engaging the lever intermediate of its ends,

a sprlng reacting between the movable end of the lever and the eccentric, and manually controllable means for moving the fulcrum relatively to the shaft.

14. In an engine governor, in combination,

a rotatable shaft, a radially movable weight carried by the shaft, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, connection between the Weight and the eccentric, a lever pivotally attached at one end to the eccentric, a fulcrum carried by and axially movable on the shaft and engaging the lever intermediate of itsends, and adapted by such movement to swmgthe lever on its pivot, and a spring reacting between the movable end of the lever carried by the shaft, connection between the 1 weight and the eccentric, a lever pivotally attached at one end to the eccentric, a fulcrum carried by andaxially movable on the shaft and engaging the lever intermediate of its ends and adapted by such movement to swing the lever on its pivot, a spring reacting between the movable end of the lever and the eccentric, and manually controlled means for moving the fulcrum.

16. In an engine governor, in combination,

a rotatable shaft,-a radially movable weight carried by the shaft, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, connection between the weight and the eccentric, a lever pivotally attached lt one end to the eccentric, a fulcrum carried by and axially movable on the shaft and engaging the lever intermediate of its ends, the bearing face of the lever upon the fulcrum being transversely inclined, and

a spring reacting between the movable end of the lever and the eccentric.

17. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a radially movable weight carried by the shaft, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft,'connection between the weight and the eccentric, a lever pivotally attached at one end to the eccentric, a fulcrum carried by and axially movable on the I shaft and engaging the lever intermediate of its ends, the bearing face of the lever upon the fulcrum beingtransversely inclined, a spring reacting between the movable end of the lever and the eccentric, and manually controllable means for moving the fulcrum.

18. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a radially movable weight carried by the shaft; a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, connection between the weight and the eccentric, a spring acting on the eccentric in opposition to the outward movement of the weight, a lever pivoted to the eccentric and connected to the spring, and a fulcrum for the lever carried by the shaft and being oscillatable and reciprocable thereon, the face of the lever being provided with an oblique track for the fulcrum.

19. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, aradially movable weight carried by the shaft, a shiftable eccentric carried by the shaft, connection between the weight and the eccentric, a spring acting on the eccentric in opposition to the outward movement of the weight, a lever pivoted to the eccentric and connected to the spring, and a fulcrum for the lever carried by the shaft and being oscillatable and reciprocable thereon, the face of the lever being provided with an oblique track for the fulcrum, such track being inclined to a plane intersecting the free end of the lever and passing axially through its pivot.

20. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, an eccentric pivotally carried by the shaft, a radially movable weight pivotally carried by the shaft, connection between the weight and th eccentric, a lever pivoted to the eccentric, a spring urging the free end of the levertoward the,shaft, an oscillatable and reciprocable sleeve mounted on the shaft and carrying a fulcrum for. the lever, tl a face of the lever having an oblique slot for engaging the fulcrum, and a hand lever for reciprocating the sleeve.

21. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, aneccentric pivotally carried by the shaft, a radially movable weight pivotally carried by the shaft, connection between the weight and theeccentric, a lever pivoted to the eccentric, a spring urging'the free end of the lever toward the shaft, an oscillatable and reciprocable sleeve mounted on the shaft and carrying a fulcrum for the lever, the face of the lever having'an oblique slot for engaging the fulcrum and being of greater depth at one end than at the other, and a hand lever for reciprocating the sleeve.

22. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft,an eccentric pivotally carried by theshaft, a radially movable weight pivotall carried by the shaft, connection between t e weight and the eccentric, a lever pivoted to the eccentric, a spring urging the free end of the lever toward the shaft, an

oscillatable and reciprocable sleev mounted on the shaft, a roller journaled on the sleeve and forming a fulcrum for the lever, its axis being oblique to theshaft axis, the face of the lever having an oblique slot for engaging the roller, and a hand lever or reciprocating the sleeve.

23. In an engine goyernor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, an eccentric pivotally carried by the shaft, a radially movable weight pivotally carried by the shaft, connection between the Weight and the eccentric, a lever pivoted to the eccentric, a

spring urging the free end of the lever toally carried by the shaft, a Weight pivotally carried by the shaft and being movable radially, a lever pivoted to the eccentric, a retractile spring attached to the eccentric at the opposite side of its pivot from the pivot of the lever and being attached to the free end of the lever, and a fulcrum for the lever mounted on the shaft.

25. In an engine governor, in combination, a centrifugally acting weight, a spring opposing the centrifugal action, and means for varying the rate of augmentation of the spring resistance due to'the outward movement of the weight, whereby the governor may be adapted to maintain constant different rates of engine speeds.

26. In an engine governor, in combination, opposed centrifugal and centripetal acting means, and means for adjusting the centripetal means to cause the governor to maintain constantdifferent rates of engine speeds.

27. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a weight pivotally carried by the shaft and movable radially with reference thereto, means for opposing the centrifugal action of the weight, such means normally increasing in force as the weight moves outward, and automatic means for varying the rate of such increase of the strength of the opposing means.

28. In an engine governor, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a weight pivotally carried by the shaft and movable radially with reference thereto, means for opposing the centrifugal action of the Weight, and supplemental means controlled by'the movement of the eccentric for augmenting the tion, a shiftable eccentric, a centrifugal weightior shifting, the eccentric, a spring for resisting the centrifu al action of the Weight, and means control ed by the movement of the eccentric due to the centrifugal force of the Weight for stretching the spring beyond the extent of movement of the eccentrio.

30. In an engine governor, in combination, a shiftable eccentric, a centrifugally acting Weight for shifting the eccentric, a spring opposing the centrifugal force of the weight, and means controlled by the movement of the eccentric for stretching the spring to an extent exceeding the movement of the Weight.

31. In an engine governor, in combination, a shiftable eccentric, a centrifugal Weight for shifting the eccentric, a spring resisting the centrifugal action of the Weight, and means controlled by the movement of the eccentric due to the outward movement of the Weight for augmenting the rate of increase of spring resistance.

NATHAN M. LOWER. Witnesses Q R. H. GmBIs, JOHN F. BAILEY. 

